Silverware container



Mar 1952 B. EG'EBERG ET AL SILVERWARE CONTAINER I Filed Sept. 50, 1948 W 56, F 5 WWW m? m EE o WMM M GCN A 55 MJ W Y B Patented Mar. 25, 1952 SILVERWARE CONTAINER Birger Egeberg, Meriden, Malcolm A. Orr, Southington, and Jean P. Phaneuf, Meriden, Conn., assignors to The International Silver Company, Meriden, Conn.-, a corporation of Connecticut Application September 30, 1948, Serial No. 51,882

4 Claims. (01. 117- 29) This invention relates to enclosures such as bags, pouches, rolls, chests, boxes and the like for containing silverware and maintaining the silverware enclosed therein from being tarnished by contaminating gases in the atmosphere.

It is known that silverware will tarnish in a short time under regular and ordinary conditions of storage and keeping. This tarnish is caused by sulphide and other tarnishing gases in the atmosphere. These gases react with the silver to form silver sulphide which constitutes the tarnish on silver. The invention has to do with the prevention of tarnish resulting from atmospheric conditions-not the tarnish caused by certain foodstuffs which the silverware meets in use.

I In general, the object of this invention is to provide such an enclosure which will be more economical to manufacture and more uniformly efficient in'protecting the silver from such contamination than any presently known enclosures.

Many materials and processes of manufacture have been devised or proposed in the pastfor use in the. prevention of the tarnish of silverware but all tliat have come to ourattention have involved the treatment or impregnation of materials with tarnish preventing compounds such, for example, as treating or impregnating the materials by soaking or dipping into metal salt solutions. All of these heretofore proposed or used materials are or would be unsatisfactory for one reason or another as for example, because of lack of endurance in tarnish prevention, diiiiculty in obtaining the desired shades of color, changes in shade and color when exposed to tarnishing gases, detrimental or corrosive character of the soluble salts chiefly to carbon and stainless steel knife blades, and in some instances sterling silver, loss by washing, etc. of tarnish prevention compounds or mediums with which the materials are treated, high cost of manufacture, etc.

Our present invention does not involve any such treatments or any impregnation. Instead we add to the inside of the enclosure walls a protecting lining composed of scattered particles of metallic silver and a loose textile material extending over and concealing the particles. Metallic silver thus concealed in the enclosure affords the most perfect protection for the tarnishing gases because of its peculiar affinity therefor and at the same time, however tarnished the concealed silver, it does not spoil the appearance of the enclosure nor contact with the enclosed silverware and impart its own tarnish thereto. To secure this lining inside the wall of the enclosure we apply a suitable adhesive over the inside surface of the wall, distribute particles of silver on the adhesive, and also fibrous material suchas flock in such manner that it extends over and conceals the silver particles.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application wherein Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a sectional view through an enclosure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of I the invention;

Fig. 3 is' a sectional view schematically illus enclosure or enclosure wall for silverware com prising a suitable base or other carrierA as, for

, example, a suitable woven fabric, paper, boxboard and the'like having mechanically incorporated thereon a layer of particlesof metallic silver B.

withthe latter visually concealed by a suitable.

textile finish C as, for example, formed of flock,

cotton or other suitable fibrous material or loosely woven material or of the nap of the fabric where} the base carrier is a woven fabric. The metallic silver B is incorporated in any suitable manner on the base carrier A to form a permanent Part of the enclosure material and it is understood that while the silver is visually concealed by the finish C, the latter is sufficiently open to permit the atmospheric air within the enclosure freely to come in contact with the silver layer B. Silverware enclosed by composite wall the material shown in Fig. 1 is substantially protected from atmospheric tarnish because of the aflinity of the silver for the tarnishing gases of the enclosed atmosphere while the metallic silver is incorporated in a manner to form a permanent part of the wall and its lining without being subject to any ap preciable dislocation or removal during the use of the enclosure.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2' the base carrier A is of fibrous material as, for example, paper, imitation leather and the like which is free from sulphur. The metallic silver B is mechanically incorporated on the carrier A by means of a suitable adhesive indicated at 10. The layer of adhesive is applied to the sulphur-free surface of the carrier A and the metallic silver B unassociated with any chemical compound, silver or otherwise, is applied to this layer of adhesive l0. Preferably the silver B is formed of minute particles and is sprayed on the surface ID to form a layer of spaced minute particles of silver,

thereby being permanently mounted and incorporated on the carrier A. The textile finish indicated at C in Fig. 2 is preferably flock made of cotton or other suitable fibrous material and of any desired color and this is applied in any suitable manner to the surface of the enclosure material, the flock being. firmly retained. by the ad.- hesive l disposed between the minute particles of metallic silver B.

In the embodiment of Fig. 3 the carrier A is indicated as of wood or the like on which is formed a tarnish preventing surface comprising the metallic silver B retainedby the adhesive ID with the textile finish C being again in. the. form of a flock similar to that of the. embodiment of Fig. 2.

In all the embodiments of the invention the disadvantages of the prior proposed or devisedfabrics are obviated and the metallic silver thus mechanically and firmly incorporated as a part of the lining of the enclosing wall substantially protects the silverware enclosed or wrapped by the affinity of the layer of silver B for the tarnish.- ing gases of the atmosphere. No chemical is associated with the metallic silver to impair the color of the concealing medium C or to become loosened in handling, using or washing. The enclosurecan be manufactured in a comparatively inexpensive manner. The metallic silver B not only has an afiinity' for the tarnishing gases of the atmosphere but retains these and does not yield them after'the chemical absorption or combination with constituents of the tarnishing gases. Of course, other metals, elements oralloys which likewise have. the characteristic of arfinity for sulphur bearing gases and which do not yield them after absorption may be substituted for silver. 7

Thus by this invention soluble salts and other chemical compounds are dispensed with together with their disadvantages and the surface of metallic silver which has a peculiar aifinity for absorbing the tarnish gases of the atmosphere within the enclosure protects the silverware containedtherein, Moreover, since the metallic silver is" firmly applied to and retained against dis lodgment from the base material and during the normal life of the metallic silver as an effective tarnish gas absorbing means, the silverware may be stored therein substantially free from tarnish itself.

In our copending application Serial No. 26,598, filed. May 12,. 1948, we have disclosed a woven fabric in which silver threads are woven into the fabric, thus producing a fabric material for enclosing and protecting silverware from contaminating gases. We are not herein claiming such fabric but are directing our claims to enclosure receptacles wherein the inner surface of the enclosure wall carries scattered silver particles which. are firmly secured in place thereon and which are concealed by loose textil material extending over their surfaces.

Weclaim:

1. A silverware container having a coating on the inner side thereof comprising a layer of adhesive, particles of metallic silver scattered over andsecured in place by said adhesive, and porous fibrous organic flock material anchored by said adhesive and extending over and concealing the l silver particles.

2. The. silverware container according, to claim 1 wherein the container has a paper fabric base. 3. The silverware container according to claim 1 wherein the container is of wood.

4. The, silverware container according to claim 1 wherein the container is made of imitation leather.

BIRGER EGEBERG. MALCOLM A. ORR. JEAN P. PHANEUF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references. are. of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 44,944 Erhard Nov. 5, 1864 1,766,646 Jones June 24, 1930 2,073,736 Champlin Mar. 16, 1937 2,136,483 Barnard Nov. 15, 1938 

1. A SILVERWARE CONTAINER HVING A COATING ONON THE INNER SIDE THEREOF COMPRISING A LAYER OF ADHESIVE, PARTICLES OF METALLIC SILVER SCATTERED OVER AND SECURED IN PLACE BY SAID ADHESIVE, AND POROUS FIBROUS ORGANIC FLOCK MATERIAL ANCHORED BY SAID ADHESIVE AND EXTENDING OVER AND CONCEALING THE SILVER PARTICLES. 